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Courtney Milan
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Courtney Milan
Courtney Milan, a pseudonym for Heidi Bond, is an American author of historical and contemporary romance novels. After releasing her first few books under a traditional publishing contract, Milan has self-published more recent works.
Prior to her writing career, Bond was a law clerk for Sandra Day O'Connor of the United States Supreme Court and for Judge Alex Kozinski. As the Me Too movement gained steam, Bond alleged that Kozinski had sexually harassed her. Kozinski soon resigned his lifetime appointment, and Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts ordered a review of how the federal judiciary handled reports of sexual harassment.
Milan served on the board of directors of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) for four years, spearheading efforts to make the organization more diverse and inclusive. In late 2019, the RWA board voted to suspend Milan for calling another author's book racist. The board reinstated her days later, noting irregularities with the process. The resulting controversy led to the mass resignation of half of the RWA board of directors, the resignation of the RWA executive director, and the cancellation of the 2020 RITA Award program.
Milan was born in 1976, to her American father Doug Bond, a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Riverside, and her Chinese-American mother, Gloria. According to her website, Milan was raised in Southern California. She wrote her first book at the age of ten and intended to be an author from a young age. She received a bachelor's degree with a double major in mathematics and chemistry from Florida State University in 2000.
Milan attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a master's degree in theoretical physical chemistry. She then went to the University of Michigan Law School, where she received the Henry Moore Bates scholarship. In 2006, she graduated summa cum laude.
During 2007 and 2008, Milan clerked for judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Milan later alleged that during her time in his employ, Kozinski called her into his office three times to look at pornography and repeatedly asked if the images aroused her. Milan discussed the harassment and the discomfort it caused her with her friend and fellow author Eve Ortega, but chose not to report it. At the time, there were no methods for clerks to report harassment and remain anonymous.
Milan was then hired to clerk for the Supreme Court of the United States, first for Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and then for Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. She took a year-long sabbatical to transition from practicing law to teaching. For the next three years, she was a professor at Seattle University School of Law, teaching contracts and intellectual property.
Milan began reading romance novels during her time as a law clerk, as a diversion from the voluminous legal research she was required to do. She decided to write a historical romance novel. Milan told The Washington Post that the transition was natural; "'One of the skills that makes you a good lawyer is the ability to take a bunch of disparate facts and weave them together into something that tells a story that pulls on the human imagination. ... Whether you’re convincing a judge that your client is innocent or convincing your reader that a couple is meant to be, it’s the same skill.'" Her first book, Proof by Seduction, was published by Harlequin in 2010. The novel received a starred review in Publishers Weekly, which called the book "delightful" and praised Milan's humor, characterization, and plot.
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Courtney Milan
Courtney Milan, a pseudonym for Heidi Bond, is an American author of historical and contemporary romance novels. After releasing her first few books under a traditional publishing contract, Milan has self-published more recent works.
Prior to her writing career, Bond was a law clerk for Sandra Day O'Connor of the United States Supreme Court and for Judge Alex Kozinski. As the Me Too movement gained steam, Bond alleged that Kozinski had sexually harassed her. Kozinski soon resigned his lifetime appointment, and Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts ordered a review of how the federal judiciary handled reports of sexual harassment.
Milan served on the board of directors of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) for four years, spearheading efforts to make the organization more diverse and inclusive. In late 2019, the RWA board voted to suspend Milan for calling another author's book racist. The board reinstated her days later, noting irregularities with the process. The resulting controversy led to the mass resignation of half of the RWA board of directors, the resignation of the RWA executive director, and the cancellation of the 2020 RITA Award program.
Milan was born in 1976, to her American father Doug Bond, a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Riverside, and her Chinese-American mother, Gloria. According to her website, Milan was raised in Southern California. She wrote her first book at the age of ten and intended to be an author from a young age. She received a bachelor's degree with a double major in mathematics and chemistry from Florida State University in 2000.
Milan attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a master's degree in theoretical physical chemistry. She then went to the University of Michigan Law School, where she received the Henry Moore Bates scholarship. In 2006, she graduated summa cum laude.
During 2007 and 2008, Milan clerked for judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Milan later alleged that during her time in his employ, Kozinski called her into his office three times to look at pornography and repeatedly asked if the images aroused her. Milan discussed the harassment and the discomfort it caused her with her friend and fellow author Eve Ortega, but chose not to report it. At the time, there were no methods for clerks to report harassment and remain anonymous.
Milan was then hired to clerk for the Supreme Court of the United States, first for Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and then for Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. She took a year-long sabbatical to transition from practicing law to teaching. For the next three years, she was a professor at Seattle University School of Law, teaching contracts and intellectual property.
Milan began reading romance novels during her time as a law clerk, as a diversion from the voluminous legal research she was required to do. She decided to write a historical romance novel. Milan told The Washington Post that the transition was natural; "'One of the skills that makes you a good lawyer is the ability to take a bunch of disparate facts and weave them together into something that tells a story that pulls on the human imagination. ... Whether you’re convincing a judge that your client is innocent or convincing your reader that a couple is meant to be, it’s the same skill.'" Her first book, Proof by Seduction, was published by Harlequin in 2010. The novel received a starred review in Publishers Weekly, which called the book "delightful" and praised Milan's humor, characterization, and plot.